


First Name Base (another tedgens fanfiction)

by jusains



Category: Starkid, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, tgwdlm - Fandom
Genre: Apocalypse, M/M, TW: mention of verbal abuse, tw: alcohol abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-26 13:24:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18717949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jusains/pseuds/jusains
Summary: I already posted this on my tumblr, but I thought I’d also post it here, since people seemed to like this.And I gave it an actual title! (it doesn’t make sense but still!)Plot: Show Stoppin Number never happens here, it’s basically just the characters living in the fortress during the apocalypse. It starts after Bill and Paul leave to get Alice. The Professor never turns bad and instead kind of comes together with Ted (because this is a Tedgens fic duh). Also Bill and Alice survive (just because I want them to. It doesn’t have anything to do with the plot, but they deserve it). I put in Hidgens original backstory (the infectious disease researcher thing), and Ted has a booze problem because he’s been rejected a lot, so it‘s gonna be a little angsty I guess.TW: Ted is an alcoholic and verbal abuse is mentioned





	1. Chapter 1

 “Oh..hi.”

The professor turns around to see Ted in the doorstep of the kitchen, leaning against the wooden door frame. Paul and Bill have been gone for over an hour now and Emma gets increasingly more nervous, just sitting in the living room and staring at the wall. 

“Hello Ted.“

“What are you doing?“

“I‘m making coffee. Do you want one as well?“

“Nah, sticking to booze.” He‘s not that much of a coffee fan anyway.

“Don‘t you think you‘ve had enough of that?“

“The world is ending, we’ll die anyway. Calm down.”

Some time passes, while the Professor keeps pushing different buttons. Ted just kind of keeps staring at him, because he doesn’t know what else to do. He’s bored and while he’s actually been exploring the house till now, he doesn’t want to keep going. Lots of panic rooms, is all he’s going to say. 

“So.. you’re not in the lab?”

“No.“ 

“Man, you don’t need Emma, do you?”

Hidgens hesitates. 

“You don’t believe they will make it. And they won’t, it’s fucking obvious. You wanted to protect her, that’s alright.” 

“There’s still a chance-“ “Ugh, come on! We both know that there’s not. They are dead by now.”

“Emma won’t give up, so I won’t do that either.” 

Ted breaks away from the door frame now and moves over to the Professor, leaning against the kitchen counter right next to him instead. 

“What is your actual name? Like your first name?”

“Henry.”

“Why is no one calling you that?”

“No one has used that name in relation to me since.. that doesn‘t matter.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, good God”, he mumbles, seemingly annoyed now.

“Well can I?”

Henry hesitates before he shakes his head.

“No.”

“Cool..Professor’s great too I guess. Just fucking long, but I’ll deal with it.”

Silence begins to settle over the room. 

“So”, Ted starts again, eager to keep the conversation going, “like..why are you here?“

“I live here, Ted.“

“Yeah, you do.” He‘s too drunk for this. 

“Hey.” It’s Emma, appearing in the door frame now. 

“Emma! There you go.” Henry hands her a cup of coffee, before he reaches for his own cup. 

“I’ll be in the lab.” And with that, he’s gone. 

Emma leans out of the door and waits for him to really disappear in another door, before she focuses on Ted just to say: “What the actual fuck?”

“What?”

“Leave him alone.”

“Calm down, barista! I was just talking to him”, Ted tries to defend himself.

“No! No, you were flirting. Stop trying to get into his pants!”

“Ugh, I wasn’t!” He was. Mostly because he’s bored, but also because Henry actually  is  hot. Just the way he moves around the room with such elegance and ease has aroused Teds interest. And Ted‘s drunk. He‘s so drunk, he‘s fucking smashed. 

“Don’t fucking lie to me. Promise you’ll leave him alone.”

“Why do  _you_ care so much, Perkins?”

“He..He’s Professor Hidgens! He‘s great and way too nice and he has the biggest heart, so don‘t you dare use him because you‘re fucking horny and smashed as fuck.”

“You really have the lowest opinion of me.”

“It‘s just..he‘s been through a lot alright? And he’s been living pretty isolated lately so if you’re actually gonna keep flirting, he’ll probably be into it. I just want you to think about whatever you’re doing, before you do something alright? So fucking sober up first. Leave him alone, if you just wanna fuck. Treat him the way he deserves to be treated, if you actually like him. If you don’t, I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Woah! ..alright.  _Jesus_!”

That’s when the doorbell rings and Emma literally sprints to the door, meeting the Professor who did the same thing. Ted just kind of follows, not hurrying at all though, in case it’s aliens. 

“Who is it?”, the Professor suspiciously asks.

“It’s Bill, Alice and me. We’re back.” It’s Paul’s voice. 

“Thank god”, Emma mumbles, impatiently waiting until the Professor told Alexa to open the gates. Just a few seconds later, the three of them come in. Emma wants to run to Paul but the Professor holds her back, cocking his gun. 

“Sing the beginning of Moana!”

“Professor! Not again!”, Emma whines. 

“Yes, again! Think about what would happen if we let those creatures in here again! The last time was a close-run!”

The three new arrivals manage to stutter a few Moana quotes, but all in one they completely fail again, to everybody’s relief. 

Hidgens lowers the gun and Emma runs to Paul. They embrace for way too long. Then there’s Bill and Alice and Bill just kind of pulls Alice in a hug now. Her eyes are red and swollen, she obviously cried earlier. 

“Is everybody alright?”, the Professor asks around, after he made Alexa close the gates again. 

“Yeah”, Bill buries his nose in Alice hair, closing his eyes for a moment, holding her like she’s all he’s got, which, to be honest, is true. 

And then there’s Ted, just kind of awkwardly standing in the entrance hall with no one to embrace. He pauses for a few seconds, then he just turns around and goes back into the kitchen, mostly because he wants to be alone.

—

Ted does think about what Emma said, he thinks about it a lot throughout the next few days. And to be honest, that’s the reason he mostly spends time by himself, drinking a lot, drinking too much probably. But what else is he supposed to do? Emma, Paul, Bill and Alice keep having fun in a group of four, playing scrabble and shit, mostly to distract Alice from the fact, that her girlfriend died. They don’t ask Ted to join and he doesn’t ask them either, because to be honest, he really does not want to spend time with them. He barely sees Henry around the house, so he figured he’s probably in his lab, doing science stuff. 

Ted didn’t mind being alone in the beginning, but after three to four days, it does get pretty boring. He‘s lonely too, but he would never admit that.

So he starts wandering around again until he finally ends up in the lab, registering Henry as soon as he entered. He’s sitting on a stool, completely focused on something, which is why he doesn’t react to Ted entering the lab. 

Ted just kind of stands there for a while, staring at Henry while he does whatever it is, he’s doing. 

Now he sighs. 

“What is it, Ted?”

Ted flinches, because he didn’t think Hidgens noticed him at all. 

“Nothing..nothing. Just snooping around, you know?”

“I really do not.”

“What are you doing?”

“I am trying to find a cure. This alien disease is a genetic reconstruction, but I‘ve been thinking that there might still be a little bit of individuality in every single one of these creatures. Therefore, I might be able to convert it again.”

“A cure? You can do that?”

“I just told you, Ted. I‘m trying.”

“I see.”

He steps closer, looking over Henrys shoulder now. 

“Ted.”

“Mh?”

“You’re completely distracting me.”

“Because I’m so hot?”

“No! ..because you are drunk and I can smell it.“

“Wow. Thanks for that.“

Henry gets up now and takes Teds arm. He pulls him back a few steps, before he reaches for some tape and tapes a barrier between two tables. 

“That is the closest you’re allowed to get, understood?”

Ted raises his arms and shrugs.

“Alright. Sorry.”

Henry goes back to his stool and leaves Ted standing behind the taped barrier.

“So when you find a cure-“ “If.” “If you find a cure.. you could still only save those who weren’t like actually killed, right?”

“If you ask because of that Charlotte, she’s definitely dead.” 

“I didn’t.” He did. 

“She must have meant a lot to you, I’m sorry that I have had to shoot her. But even if I didn’t, Sam removed her guts. She would not have survived if it wasn’t for the apotheosis.”

There’s some silence for a few seconds, then Ted says: “I didn’t like her like that. She didn’t mean a lot to me.”

“I’m sorry then. But you seemed grief-stricken and miserable after I shot her.”

“I wasn’t.” He was. Not because he loved her, but because he felt guilty. He‘s the one who left her alone with Sam anyway. Just because she hurt his feelings. 

“Okay.”

“She loved Sam. He was her husband. We just screwed around, that’s all.”

“You did like her.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“I mean, she was alright, but it’s not like I fucking loved her or shit like that. I don’t do that.”

“Don’t do that?”

“I don’t _love_ people.”

“That is not something, people choose to do.”

“I do.”

“Alright then.”

Henry focuses on his work again and that’s when Emma steps in. 

“Hey Professor.. and Ted.”

“Emma, hey.”

She ducks under the tape. 

“You’re not allowed to do that”, Ted quickly says. 

“Yes I am.”

“No one is, except for Henry.” Emma turns around to him for a moment and raises her eyebrows, after he said the name. 

“Actually”, Henry says now, “Everybody is, except for you. And please don’t call me Henry.”

Ted just stares at him for a moment, with his jaw dropped. 

“Alright.“ He slowly catches himself again. “But that was fucking mean.“

“I’m sorry Ted. What is it Emma?”

“Do you have like a first aid kit or something? Bill accidentally cut his finger and we can’t find one.”

“Yes, I do. Hold on, I’ll get it.”

He gets up and leaves the lab. Emma follows him, but pauses next to Ted for a second. 

“Henry? So you‘re fighting for first name base now?”

“Looks like it.”

“Good luck, I guess. No one calls him that.”

“I will.”

“Yeah, sure.”

And with that she follows the professor.  


	2. Chapter 2

Ted keeps visiting Henry in his lab over the next few days and they actually do talk a lot, with Henry engaging more an more.

Ted also catches himself crushing on Henry, more than he thought and more than he can handle. Mostly because Henry doesn’t seem extremely annoyed by everything he does. He actually talks to him in a normal way, even when Ted says something wrong. He laughs about it, when Ted jokes around too. And let’s be honest, he’s so fucking hot.

Ted tries flirting again, but he’s miserable at that, especially when he’s drunk. And Henry barely engages in it, which is why Ted stops after two or three days. He doesn’t want to bother Henry, who’s obviously not interested. It bothers Ted, it really does, but he accepts it, because he can’t force Henry to like him, right? 

It especially bothers him, that Emma was wrong about Henry having lived isolated and therefore being into it, if Ted keeps flirting. It gave Ted hope, but apparently Henry’s really not into it at all.

So being his friend is alright too, Ted figured. He’s never really had a close friend. Charlotte was probably the closest. He thought of Paul as a friend, but Paul mostly seems rather bothered by all of his actions (not unlike everybody else). It’s not Teds fucking fault that he never really thinks before he opens his mouth.

So he spends most of his time in the lab with Henry, whom he does have a crush on (which he perfectly hides) and tries to become his friend, even if Henry keeps asking Ted about himself. Ted’s never really been asked about himself and he really doesn’t want to. There’s so much he doesn’t want to talk about. And now Henry just keeps asking.

“Are you drunk again?”

“No? No.”

“Don’t lie to me Ted.”

“I guess.”

Henry looks up, eyeing Ted skeptically.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, sure. Just bored.”

Henry raises his eyebrow, before turning away from Ted and focusing on his work again.

For some reason, Henry’s just always working, always there, always in the lab. Ted also noticed that he looks tired. More and more tired as the days pass and he can’t help but wonder, when was the last time Henry actually slept? Because he never seems to go to sleep. And every time Ted asks him about it, Henry just shrugs and tells him, he’s not tired _at all_.

Obviously, both of them carry emotional baggage, neither of them wants or dares to talk about.

— 

“You alright?”, Ted asks again, the next time, he’s at the lab with Henry. Henry looks particularly worn out that day and he barely spoke, only nodding at whatever Ted said. Sometimes Ted’s even gotten a monosyllabic answer, but that’s not the standard today.

“Absolutely”, Henry mumbles.

“When was the last time you slept? You look like shit.”

“You really are empathetic, aren‘t you?” He sounds so pissed. 

“I‘m sorry. But you look so fucking tired today. That doesn‘t look healthy anymore, seriously.”

“Just leave. Can‘t you see that you bother me with your presence?”

“I’m worried about you alright? You’re always in here, I never see you eat and I never see you sleep.”

“And I never see you sober.”

“Well, I’m fucking sorry I asked!”

“Just leave please.”

“No.”

Henry looks up, for the first time now.

“I am serious, Ted. Leave.”

“No, I’m not gonna fucking leave.”

Suddenly he remembers what Emma said to him in the kitchen, a few days ago. He’s been through a lot . Like what the fuck has he been through? It must have been hard, because he’s obviously not alright. Henry has turned away again. He tears his hair now and pinches his eyes.

“There’s something I’m not seeing. I’m too stupid, Leighton would have known”, he quietly mumbles.

“Who the fuck is Leighton now?”

“I told you to leave.”

Ted ignores Henrys answer and tears the tape barrier down instead, to go through. 

“Stop right there Ted.”

Henry gets up and Ted comes to a stop, staring at Henry now, while he furiously crumbles up the paper he wrote on and ditches it into the trash can.

“Henry-“

Ted watches nervously as Henry keeps going, keeps destroying everything he worked on in the last few days.  

“Henry stop. I’m serious”, he says now, while Henry wipes off everything he wrote on the whiteboard, starting completely anew.

“Henry!“ 

He finally comes to a stop, turning around to Ted.

“Don’t call me that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I won‘t ever be able to do it.”

“It’s okay.”

“It is not. I won‘t save one person. I have miserably failed again. I let them die.”

“Jesus, calm down man. Is this still about the apocalypse?”

“It is not, of course!”

Absolute devastation shows in his face now. His eyes are watery and while he stares at Ted like that, the bags under his eyes seem darker than ever.

“It’s not”, he mumbles again, before he attacks his scientific equipment, breaking beakers and flasks now, by throwing them either on the floor or against the wall.

“Woah, shit“, Ted mumbles, before he rushes to Henry to pull him away from the glassware. He manages to hold his arms down, by pulling him into a weird sideways hug.

“Stop!”, he just whispers, pulling him even closer, because _god_ , Henry’s strong and Ted lost control over his strength, because he’s drunk and therefore Henry’s almost able to break out of the hug, reaching for another flask now. Ted quickly takes it from him.

“It’s alright! You don’t have to do anything if you can’t or.. don’t want to. You don’t owe this to anyone. Fucking calm down now.”

That’s when Henry stops resisting and starts sobbing instead. He slowly lets himself sink into the hug now, suddenly appearing so small, even though he’s actually taller than Ted. Ted softly starts stroking his back and the back of his head, trying to make him calm down a little. He also places a soft kiss on Henrys head, regretting it as soon as his lips hit Henrys hair, because _what the fuck_ was that supposed to be?

Henry breaks away from the hug and takes a few steps back, stumbling a little, which is why Ted dives forward to grab his arm, so he doesn‘t fall.

“Seriously man, I’m not a doctor or anything, but I think you have a burnout”, he says, trying to ignore that his instincts just made him awkwardly kiss Henrys hair.

Henry wipes the tears from his cheeks and turns away.

“I do not. I’m fine.”

“When was the last time you slept?“

“I don’t know. Stop asking so many questions.”

Henry frees his arm from Teds grip, by energetically pulling it back now. Then he starts massaging his temples, like he has a headache.

“Can you leave?”

“Do you have a headache?“

“No, just leave.”

“Why?”

“I’ll leave then.”

“You’re such a dramatic bitch, you know that?” There’s not even a reason for that. Teds so used to being mean as a defense mechanism, that he only ever realizes he was, after he already said something. But he can’t take it back now. He doesn’t apologize either. He’s way too proud to admit that it was wrong and it’s embarrassing too.

Henry sighs and leaves the lab now, leaving Ted alone.

Ted stands there for a while. He feels the lump in his throat, he knows that, for some reason, he’s about to cry. Suddenly, he feels lonelier than ever. He feels more rejected than ever, even though it’s his fault. It always is. Apparently it also was, when his parents kicked him out at seventeen, after verbally abusing him for years. He does know what rejection feels like. Maybe that’s why he’s got all those emotional walls build up higher than the empire state building. 

He hasn’t cried in years, but now his vision rapidly becomes more and more blurry as the tears gather in his eyes. He‘s sad and angry and completely disgruntled.

And when he realizes that he still holds the flask, he took from Henry, he just smashes it against the wall, as the anger and the booze take over his mind. Then he starts crying, because he can‘t hold it back anymore. And consequently he just stands there, sobbing and crying and staring at the pieces of broken glass, he and Henry left on the floor.

“Oh.”

He flinches and quickly turns around, realizing Alice came in.

“I was just..”, she hesitates, “just exploring the house.”

He never really talked to her. He just saw her a few times, when she picked up Bill from work. And of course, they ran into each other in the last few days, but Ted doesn’t trust her enough that he’s okay with her seeing him cry. He’s not okay with anybody seeing that, to be honest.

“Are you okay?”

Ted nods. He quickly wipes the tears from his face and forces a smile.

“Nah, you’re not. It’s Ted, right?”

“Yeah. Can you just leave me alone? And.. fucking forget about it, too?”

She hesitates but she nods ultimately, before mumbling a quiet “Sorry” and leaving the lab.


	3. Chapter 3

Ted goes back to the lab on the next day. He planned to apologize, even though he’s probably not gonna have the guts to actually do it. He delayed it as long as possible, which is why it’s late in the afternoon by now.

But Ted really couldn‘t bear loosing Henry now. He‘s the only friend he has, if they actually are friends and it‘s not just Ted’s wishful thinking. 

When he enters the lab, he sees Henry sleeping, with his head resting on the table.

Ted hesitates for a moment and thinks about coming back later. But that position does look so fucking uncomfortable and Ted can’t bear leaving Henry like that.

He quietly taps over to him and touches his shoulder, carefully shaking it too, when Henry doesn’t react. He quietly groans and mumbles something, before he pushes himself up and opens his eyes. He looks sleepy, which is cute, but he also still looks tired as fuck.

“Ted?”

“Yeah. You should go to sleep. Like in a bed, you know?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Jesus, Henry! Come on.”

He pulls him up and carefully proceeds to pull him out of the lab now.

“You‘re going to sleep and eat and you‘re not allowed to step through the tape barrier anymore.“

“Ted this is my lab.“

“I don‘t care.“

Ted kind of just pulls Henry through the house, to his bedroom, pushing him on the bed, as soon as they‘re in there.

“Woah“, Henry mumbles.

“What?“

“That push was kind of sexual.” 

“Jesus, Henry! I didn’t mean to.”

Henry just kind of sits there, while Ted stands there, trying to find the guts to actually apologize. Henry goes first, right before Ted was about to open his mouth (he really was). 

“I’m sorry Ted.”

“Don’t be.”

“No, I really am.“

“It‘s alright.”

“I should not have been so vicious to you. You were only trying to help.”

“I was, but I mean, I wasn’t right either. I should have respected your request, your boundaries, you know? And you were right..about me being drunk a lot. I am.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I really don’t.” Because deep down, Ted believes that Henry doesn’t actually want to know. He believes that Henry just asked because it‘s polite and he‘s polite. He‘s so polite and nice and.. good. He‘s a good person. Ted doesn‘t believe that he can say the same thing about himself. He‘s an asshole, a fucking creep (Emma called him that one and she was right) and he’s always saying the wrong things, using the wrong words.

“I’m sorry for how I behaved. And for what I called you”, he finally blurts out. 

“It’s alright. I would have considered it funny, if it wasn’t for me being angry.”

“You think me calling you a bitch was funny?” 

“Yes.” 

Ted smiles now. “Well, you’re welcome then.” 

“But don’t call met that again.”

“I won’t. I actually respect you a lot you know. I was just.. mad I guess. And it was the first thing that came to my mind.”

“It’s alright.”

Everything is said now, but for Ted it still feels wrong to just _leave._ Henry’s sitting there, looking anywhere but at Ted, suddenly deep in thought and looking like a picture of misery again. 

“Are you hungry?”, Ted gets himself to ask.

“Not at all.”

“Alright.”

After a few more seconds of hesitation, Ted decides to sit next to Henry, careful to keep a little distance between the two of them. He’s afraid to get too close and scare him off again, like he did when he kissed his head. He does not want to be pushed away again, once hurt enough. Also, he wants to give Henry space and respect his boundaries.

But Henry doesn‘t seem bothered by it now. Because after sitting in silence for a few seconds, he actually starts talking.

“Ted, did you know that I was an infectious disease researcher in my earlier years?”

“No. You were?”

“Yes. We were a team of seven. They were my friends.”

“What happened?”

“They got infected. I had to quarantine them in the lab and then I tried to find a cure.”

“But you didn’t.” Ted looks up, afraid that he’s right.

“You are right, I did not. I let them die. One after another until all of them were gone.”

“But..but that’s not your fault though.”

“It is, Ted.” 

Ted keeps quiet, thinking for a moment, before mumbling a confused “No?”. He seeks Henrys gaze, before he continues. “No, how much time did you have? Like a few fucking days? That’s impossible.”

“It is. But still.”

“Alright.” Ted reaches for Henrys hand. “You have to let this go. It’s not your fault. At least you tried to find a cure. It’s not like you are the one who infected them and they were not your responsibility. They were responsible for themselves and they knew the risk, right?” 

Henry just stares at Teds hand, touching his, and Ted quickly lets go of it, pulling his hand back.

“They did, but they were my friends. I should have.. I should have saved them. I just gave up at some point”, he slowly continues, still staring at his hand, which now lays on his lab alone, lonely too maybe.

“It’s still not your fault. Jesus, Henry! ..I mean Professor. Sorry.”

Henry sniffles now and Ted figures he’s about to cry. He wants to hug him, but he doesn’t dare. 

So he just sits there, next to Henry but all by himself.

Then Henry slowly moves over to him and leans his head against Teds shoulder, low-key reaching for his hand again and interlocking their fingers. He seems nervous and uncertain while doing it, which is why Ted hesitates, before giving in and leaning against Henry, gently squeezing his hand too. Henry slowly seems to relax now as he fully leans into Ted.

“Henry’s fine”, Henry mumbles.

“What?”

“You can call me Henry. I hereby give you my permission.”

“Oh..okay. I will then.”

Teds heart is beating so damn fast. Faster than a cheetah can run and louder than gunfire probably.

“There is a risk of it all happening again. That’s why I want to find a cure. What if one of you gets infected? Especially Emma or..or you.”

“Me?” 

“Yes, Ted.” 

“Like.. you care about me?” 

His heart makes a little salto now, just thinking about it. Maybe Henry does like him a little. There‘s still a chance, right?

“Of course I care about you.” 

“As much as you care about Emma? She did bring you groceries once.”

Henry chuckles now. 

“Ted, Emma is like a daughter to me.” 

“So that‘s a no then?”

“No, I.. I don’t know.”

He looks up now, his eyes meeting Teds. And he‘s automatically so close, that Ted forgets to breath for a second there. 

They just stare at each other, then Ted leans closer. As if by reflex, not because he planned to. Henry shies away and stares at Ted afterwards, with big eyes. Not exactly shocked but certainly surprised.

“Oh“, he mumbles.

“Sorry“, Ted whispers, quickly turning away and pulling his hand out of Henrys.

“Are you drunk?”

“No.” It’s the truth. He‘s really not.

“Did you.. did you want to..?” 

“I gotta go.” Ted gets up as quick as possible and goes for the door. Mostly because he feels like crying again and he really does not want to do that in front of Henry.

“Wait.”

“Just go to sleep, alright?”

And with that he carefully closes the door. 

—

It doesn’t take long, before he gets back to the booze. Just about an hour. Every bit of care he had for himself or his body is gone now. It’s late and everybody’s already asleep and Ted is totally plundering the bar. 

It’s not because Henry rejected him, not on the main anyway. If Henry’s not into him, that’s alright. Ted’s not that desperate, he’ll get over it. And he‘s not even sure what his feelings towards Henry are exactly. He hasn‘t figured it all out yet, so maybe there‘s still the possibility of withdrawing them. The feeling of those weird-ass feelings being left unrequited did hurt a little, that‘s for sure. He likes Henry so much . And he craves the nearness of someone, probably anyone really, but especially Henry. But someone as good and smart as Henry must probably have enough common sense to not like Ted, that‘s for sure.

And he‘s okay with it. He’s not mad at Henry or anything, it’s not like it’s his fault.

It’s just now, that it’s literally the end of the world, he realized that he doesn’t have anyone. He has lived more than half of his life without any contact to his parents and to be honest, it was still the better part.

But now that Charlotte’s gone, he doesn’t even have anyone to screw around with anymore. That was the closest thing he had to intimacy and he lost that too. He really liked her. It wasn’t love, but maybe he could have made it work, if it wasn’t for that fucking scumbag Sam.

She did deserve better. Better than Sam, but also better that Ted, if he’s being honest.

Ted’s always been coping with alcohol and that’s what he’s doing now too. It’s the apocalypse anyway. They’ll die soon, so why the hell would he still be be committed to care for his health? He never really did, but still.


	4. Chapter 4

Ted stays up the whole night, sitting on the floor by the bar, staring at the wall, holding a bottle of booze. He dozes off every now and then, but he always wakes up again, about half an hour later. 

He‘s still there, after the sun has risen again. He‘s not sure how o‘clock it is, he completely lost his concept of time.

“Ted?” It’s fucking Emma Perkins. He’s really not in the mood for another threat. He won’t get close to Henry anyway. Like ever.

“Fuck off”, he mumbles.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Ted, seriously. How much did you drink?”

“Dunno, man.”

“Alice?”, she calls out now, leaning into the corridor. 

“Yeah?”

“Can you get the Professor?”

“Sure.”

“I’m fucking fine.” Ted tries to get up now, but his vision only gets more blurred, which is why he gives up almost immediately. 

Emma comes over to him and kneels in front of him.

“Hey Ted?”

“Mh?”

“Fucking look at me, please.”

“Why?”

He looks up now, locking his eyes with hers for as long as he can bear it. Then he looks over to the door, registering Henry in the frame.

“What is it, Emma?”

“He’s fucking smashed. Like more than in general, I think.”

Henry comes over to them, sitting next to Ted now.

“I said I’m fine”, Ted repeats.

“He couldn’t even get up”, Emma notes.

“Can you get water? And bread?”, Henry asks.

“Yeah.” She gets up and disappears.

“Hey Ted.”

“Hi.”

“You’ve had enough, come on.”

He reaches for the bottle and places it out of Teds reach. Ted’s too weak to stop him, too weak to care too.

“Why the fuck do you care?”, Ted just mumbles, “or are you just afraid that I’m gonna throw up on your floor?”

“Don’t be that way now.“

“Sorry for asking. No one ever fucking cared, s’all.” Ted tries to get up again now and he actually manages to do it. Really slowly though and he has to hold onto the bar not to fall, but it‘s alright if he ignores the headache and the fact that everything is blurry as fuck.

“Ted, I..“ Henry got up too and tries to sustain Ted, by grabbing his arm and placing his other hand on Teds waist.

“This is fine, I’m fine”, Ted mumbles, while he tumbles back and squeezes his eyes in order to gain a clear and sharp vision.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“About what?”

“About your drinking problem, which clearly has its root in an experience from your past.” 

“Jesus Doc.”

“It’s alright, I’ll listen to everything you want to talk about.”

“Why would you want to hear that when I don’t even want to think it?”

Ted gets louder now and more upset. 

“I can tell you, you know! I can tell you about how.. how my fucking parents kicked me out when I was seventeen. About feeling like a fucking loner all the time! Oh poor fucking Ted, get a hold of yourself!“

He‘s angry now and too drunk to care that he actually told someone. Henry just looks at him for a moment, sympathetically.

“Why did they kick you out?”

“‘Cause I’m.. fucking bi. They didn’t want that shit in their house. I mean they never wanted me anyway. It was a mistake.”

“What was?” 

“I was. You know, my birth. I guess the fucking condom broke or something. I wish it didn’t.”

“You are not a mistake.”

“Well thanks, I guess, but I’m a sleazeball and that’s just.. that’s it.”

“Oh Ted.”

“Told you I’m fine.”

“You are not but that’s alright.” 

Ted hesitates, looking up now.

“I’m.. I’m just..” He stares at Henry while he focuses on not crying. He blinks a lot and squints his eyes, quietly sniffling too. Then the first tear makes its way out of Teds eye, running over his skin and he just gives up. 

“Good God”, Henry mumbles, as Teds whole body begins to shake under the weight of his heavy sobs. Henry moves closer to Ted and pulls him in a hug. Ted lets himself fall against Henrys chest. He places his head against Henrys shoulder, sobbing now. His tears begin to soak through Henrys black turtleneck, but Henry doesn‘t seem to care. He simply pulls Ted even closer, slowly stroking his back now.

“I care about you, Ted. Alright?”, he whispers, after quite some time.

“Come on. I annoy you and that’s it.”

“No you don’t.”

“I do. I annoy everybody. It’s alright, I’m annoying as fuck. I annoy myself sometimes.”

“You don’t bother me in any way, I enjoy every minute I spend with you. I just.. I am not good at showing this kind of admiration. And you make me feel confused.”

Ted hesitantly looks up.

„How the hell do I confuse you?”

Henry places his hands against Teds temples now and gently tries to dry Teds cheeks with his thumbs.

“I don’t know, Ted. I get nervous and clumsy when you are near me. And I can’t be that way in the lab.”

“Oh.” 

That’s when Emma comes back.

“Alright, I’ve got bread and-“ She hesitates, when she sees how close they are. Henry breaks his gaze from Teds, lets go of his face and looks at Emma.

“Thank you Emma.”

She puts it down on the surface of the bar, mumbling a quiet “There you go”, before she quickly leaves the room, uncertainly eyeing Ted, who’s still gazing at Henry.

“I’m so into you”, he mumbles now.

“What?”

“I’m into you. Did you know that?” 

“Yes..no.. I mean yes I did, but only since you tried to kiss me yesterday.” Henry blushed while saying that and it‘s certainly the cutest thing Ted has ever seen.

“But I.. I tried to flirt”, Ted notes.

“I believed you did that because you were drunk.” 

“You’re an idiot. I wasn’t that drunk.” 

“You are drunk right now.”

“But I’m of sound mind, seriously.”

“I wouldn’t dare to hope that you actually like me. I‘m too old.”

“But I like you. It’s just ten years.”

“I‘m afraid it’s a little more than that.”

“I don’t care either way.”

Ted leans closer, to finally kiss Henry but Henry carefully pushes him back.

“I’m sorry Ted, but you are too drunk for that.”

“Don’t worry, you’ve got my consent. I want to kiss you so bad.”

Henry slightly smiles now, blushing even more. 

“No, I’m sorry. ..and I’m sorry for yesterday.”

“For what now?”

“When I shied away. But I have to say, I didn’t expect it by any means.”

“It’s alright, we can kiss now.”

“Ted, no.. come on.” 

He reaches for the glass of water, Emma brought and gives it to Ted. 

“Drink up. At once.”

“I can’t drink that quick.”

“You surely can with booze.”

“But not with water.”

“Then drink it slowly, good God.”

He waits, while Ted slowly slurps the water. 

“Alright”, Ted finally says, after a few sips.

“You didn’t even drink half of it.”

“I did!”

Henry chuckles now. 

“No”, he contradicts before taking the water from him and holding the bread basket in front of him instead.  

“You’re not gonna make me eat all of that, are you?” 

“Just one.” 

“Don’t force me.”

“Ted, come on. Please.“

Ted pouts, but he reaches for a slice and takes a bite.

“Are you happy now?”

“That was one bite.”

“Alright. Jesus, you’re bossy.”

Ted somehow manages to eat the whole thing, emptying the glass too. 

“Do you feel better now?”, Henry asks afterwards.

“Nah, I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”

“Please don’t.”

“I can’t control that. ..But I think I won’t.” 

“It is very likely the best, if you sleep it out.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Did you sleep at all tonight?”

“A little.”

“Right here on the floor?”

“I guess.”

“Come here.” Henry offers his hand, to keep Ted steady. Ted is still struggling to keep his balance. It was easier in the hug, when he could lean against Henry, but now that Henry let go of him, everything started to spin again.

“Ted, are you alright?“

He slowly realizes, how much he clung to Henrys arm as he tried not to fall over.

“Yeah.. a little dizzy.“

Henry places his arm around Teds waist and pulls him closer. He maneuvers Ted to one of the guest rooms, where he’s normally sleeping, when he’s not sleeping on the floor next to the bar. Ted stumbles a lot over his own feet but they eventually make it. Ted would probably never admit it to Henry, but he’s so fucking tired. And because of that, as soon as he sits on the mattress, he’s as good as gone.

“Ted?”

“Mh?” 

“Good Night.”

Ted smiles.

“It’s morning.”

“Yes. Anyway.”

“Are you gonna kiss me good night or nah?”

He’s not sure where that courage came from, but it’s probably the booze. Henry chuckles and actually gets closer to place a quick kiss on Teds forehead.

“Go to sleep now”, he whispers, before he disappears.


	5. Chapter 5

After he woke up it‘s six am. Ted‘s wide awake, but way too weak to actually get up, so he just spends about two hours laying there, thinking a lot. Thinking about Henry.

Did whatever Henry told him yesterday mean he likes him? Like that he actually _like_ -likes him? It sounded that way. But it‘s also possible that Ted dreamed all of that. It‘s too good, to actually be true, isn‘t it?

Two hours after waking up, Ted spends another half hour trying to get himself to get up, despite the headache and the vertigo. He tumbles into the shower and stands under the steaming hot water for way too long, before he forces himself to stop.

It‘s about nine am now and he can hear the others in the kitchen, but he hesitates to join them. Emma saw him cry, which is so fucking embarrassing and God knows what Henry thinks about him, now that he was so shamelessly honest. He probably just likes him as a friend. He cares about him in a friendly way. Ted was drunk and he probably over-interpreted everything Henry said.

Ultimately, he decides to join them anyway, who cares if it‘s gonna be awkward? (He does, he cares so much, but he‘ll try to seem cool and relaxed.)

When he enters the kitchen, Henry and Emma are doing the dishes. Of course Emma‘s there. She‘s always there. Alice is there too, just leaning against one of the counters, while talking to Emma.

“Hey“, Ted mumbles, when no one reacts.

Henry looks up and smiles.

“Ted! How are you?“

“I feel like shit, to be honest.“ Not just physically too.

“Do you want a coffee?”

“No..no.”

He nervously eyes Emma and Alice, who stopped talking to stare at him. He knew, it’d be awkward. He hesitantly steps closer to Henry, leaning against the kitchen counter next to him, leaning over to him to quietly say: “I.. can’t exactly recall everything, but, you know.. did I say what I think I said?”

“You’ll have to be more precise.”

“Jesus, Henry, you know what I mean.”

“You mean, when you said you liked me?”

“Exactly.”

“And then you tried to kiss me.”

“Jup.”

“You don’t have to blush Ted.”

“Well I didn’t fucking mean to.”

Henry smiles now and finally looks up.

“Alright, this is where we leave”, Emma notes loudly and Ted flinches, because he totally forgot about her and Alice. They leave and Henry continues.

“I mean, don’t be embarrassed.”

“But I am. It’s embarrassing.”

“It’s not. Did you mean it?”

Ted hesitates, looking anywhere but at Henry now. He thinks about lying, but where’s the point?

“Or was it the alcohol speaking?”, Henry goes on asking.

“It’s the truth”, Ted quietly admits, still not daring to look at Henry.

“You do like me?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.. good.”

“Why is that good?”

“Why do you think?”

“I don’t know?” 

“I like you as well.”

“Oh?” 

“I like you Ted.”

“Like.. in a romantic kinda way? Like a lover?”

Henry smiles now while watching Ted, obviously amused.

“Like a lover?”

Ted feels dumb for asking. Of course not. Of course he doesn’t.

“Yes. I suppose like a lover”, Henry continues, seemingly deep in thought now.

 _Oh_. Teds brain just stops working for a moment, he stares at Henry instead. Especially his lips. Fucking shit, his lips. They look so soft. He bets they are. 

“So you’re into me?”, he asks again, still too startled to actually believe his ears.

“I am.”

“You are.”

Henry moves closer to Ted now, his hand moving up to the collar of his shirt, nervously fiddling with the fabric. He gets so close, that Ted can feel his breath on his lips and he’s already loosing his mind, good God.

“Henry?”, he still asks. Quietly. It’s more of a whisper.

“Mh?”

“You sure?”

Henry smiles now, avoiding Teds gaze, mostly because he’s indecently staring at his lips instead.

“Yes.”

They stare at each others lips for as long as they can bear it. Ted gives up first. He leans to Henry and pushes his lips onto Henrys soft ones. They really are as soft as they looked. Henrys hand moves up from Teds shirt collar, going for his hair instead and pulling him closer into a second kiss.

Ted backs away a little, afterwards, and just stares at Henry for a few seconds. He’s overwhelmed by absolutely everything that’s going on inside his mind, not able to think one clear thought.

“Holy shit, fuck“, he mumbles. 

“I rate that as a positive?”

“You better fucking believe it.”

He leans closer and they kiss again. This time, they keep going for quite a while, keep kissing. The kisses grow more and more passionate too, more heated. Teds hand goes for Henrys waist now and he gently pushes him against the kitchen counter, stepping closer. 

“I’ve been waiting so fucking long for this“, Ted mumbles against Henrys lips, “You could have dropped hints, you know.”

“I know but I did not mean to like you. You said you don’t do love.”

“Ugh, yeah, you’re right, I said that.”

“Do you still mean it?”

“I don’t think so. _Shit_ , I really like you.”

Henry smiles now and bites his lip, in a completely innocent way but it’s still hot.

“Come here”, Ted mumbles, before pulling Henry closer.

Henry does, pushing his lips against Teds again and running his fingers through Teds damp hair, completely messing it up. Ted leans closer to him, not yet (or maybe never) having enough of Henrys contiguity. His sanity is completely gone by now. He just lets Henry do whatever he’s doing to him, that makes him feel so jittery and warm and fuzzy.

They stop, to breath, because apparently they both forgot. They are audibly breathing now, while still holding onto each other, with their eyes still closed, their foreheads touching.

“Ted..“ Henry slowly removes his hands from Teds hair, carefully evening it too.

“Huh?“

 “Good God.” His hand runs down over Teds chest now, before he wraps his arms around Teds upper body. He simply kisses Ted again, while unobtrusively shoving his hand into the back pocket of Teds pants and pulling him closer. 

After that kiss, they just stand there, still embracing each other, with Ted resting his head on Henrys shoulder and Henry leaning his head against Teds.

 “Ted?”

Ted smiles. “Yeah?” 

“You can always talk to me, you know that.”

“So do you. To me, I mean, you can talk to me, not to yourself. You can also talk to yourself, but-“ “Yes, I understood. Thank you Ted.”

“You’re welcome”, he mumbles, before looking up, “It’s your hand.”

“What?”

“You put your hand in my back pocket and now I’m not able to form a sentence anymore.” 

Henry chuckles, pulls it out and, just seconds later, completely breaks away from Ted.

“You have my deepest apologies.”

“No, I didn’t tell you to stop hugging me! Come back.”

“Good God, you‘re despotic“, he mumbles as he pulls Ted closer again.

“I‘m really not“, Ted contradicts.

He lets his hand run up to Henrys temple now, before he leans closer and starts placing kisses on his cheek and jawline.

“Ted?” It’s Bill.

“Yeah.” He turns around to look at him, still pretty close to Henry, with Henrys arm still wrapped around Teds waist.

“Oh”, Bill mumbles, obviously taken aback and overwhelmed. He frowns then. “Since when are you two..going steady?“

Ted turns to Henry and they stare at each other, quietly asking for an answer. Are they going steady? 

“Dad, leave them alone.” Alice appeared behind Bill and carefully reaches for his arm to pull him out of the kitchen. “They were totally making out in here.”

“Alice!” Bill looks at Ted, apologetically but also surprised.

Ted chuckles.

“Come on”, Alice prompts again and Bill finally gives in, following her into the corridor.

As soon as they’re gone, Ted turns back to Henry.

“So..” He starts fumbling with Henrys hair, his arm resting on Henrys shoulder again.

“So?”

“Are we going steady? You know, are we dating?”

“You ask that like you are afraid, I’ll say yes.”

“No! Fuck, no! I.. I never really dated anyone, that’s all.”

“And you don’t want to start?”

“No, I want you. I want to date you so bad, Henry.” 

Henry chuckles now. “Alright then Ted.”

“I’m so fucking nervous, that’s all. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“Sorry or nervous?”

“Both.”

“I’ll try.”

Henry smiles and Ted starts melting. Metaphorically of course.

“You wanna kiss again?”, he asks.

Henry nods. “Yeah.”


	6. Chapter 6

Dating Henry is even greater that Ted thought it would be. They cuddle a lot. Like a lot a lot. By now they are almost always touching in some way, holding hands or at least standing close enough for their shoulders to touch. Ted‘s not sleeping in his own bed anymore too, instead he‘s sleeping all cuddled up with Henry. And he would never admit it, not yet anyway, but he thinks he might be in love. It‘s only been a week, but every time Henry enters a room Ted‘s in, he gets all jittery and nervous.

Henry went back to looking for a cure in the lab, but not after promising Ted to take it easy.

Ted‘s about to visit him when Emma stops him from the living room.

„Hey Ted?“ She steps into the corridor.

He stops, but doesn‘t hurry to turn around to her. He‘s not sure how much everybody knows about Henry and him being a thing, but Emma must at least suspect it, because to be honest, they are not as sneaky as they think they are.

“Where are you going?“

“Henry.“

That name earns a raised eyebrow from Emma.

“It‘s Henry now?“

“Seems like it.“

“So you guys are together?” 

“Why do you care?” Ted goes full defense real quick. He’s always been that way.

“I..was just asking.”

“Listen Emma, fucking kill me if you want to but I actually like him.” 

“I’m not gonna fucking kill you. I wanted to apologize.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry for being so mean and everything. I had the lowest opinion of you and I was wrong. I have never seen Henry that happy, so..thanks for that.”

“I’m not dating him to please you.”

Her face lights up.

“So you _are_ dating?”

“Yeah..yeah, we are.”

“Cool.”

“Cool?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll go then.”

“Alright.”

— 

They’ve been together for about a month now. It’s late in the evening, everybody went to sleep but Henry never appeared, so Ted figured he’d look for him. When he enters the lab, Henry just sits there, doing nothing but staring at a flask filled with something.

“You alright?”

Henry flinches and halfway turns to Ted who came closer and now puts his arms around Henry from behind, resting his head on Henrys.

“Yes.” 

“Sure?” 

“I think I was wrong about the reversibility of the apotheosis. Those reconstructions clearly are not reversible. I can see it now, clear as the day.”

“I’m sorry.” Ted places a kiss on Henrys head.

“You are not the one who crashed the meteor into the starlight theatre. It isn’t your fault.”

“No, I know. It’s just..you wanted this so bad and I wanted it for you.”

“You are sweet Ted.”

“I want you to know that none of this is your fault. You tried and it’s not possible and that’s alright.”

Henry keeps quiet. Ted breaks away from him a little to turn him around in his chair. 

“Say it.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“That it’s not your fault.” 

Henry smiles down-hearted.

“Ted, don’t be that way now. I’m fine.”

“Nuh-uh!” He leans forward and places a quick kiss on Henrys lips, pulling away afterwards. Henry follows to kiss him again, but Ted ducks away.

“Only if you say it.”

“Good God. It’s not my fault.” 

“There you go.”

Henrys reaches for Teds head, pulling him closer, almost impatiently. They kiss again, for real this time. It grows more passionate, until there’s Teds hand, pulling on Henrys Turtleneck and finding a way underneath. He slowly pulls Henry up from the stool and gently pushes him against the desk instead.

Henrys hand leaves Teds hair now, instead going for his tie and loosening it. He then proceeds to undo the first few buttons of Ted shirts, running his hand eagerly over his skin. 

Ted catches himself reaching for Henrys belt now, fiddling with the buckle.

“Ted..”

Ted quickly backs away.

“Sorry! Sorry.. too quick?”

Henry stares at him for a few seconds, lightly panting.

„No, just.. bedroom“, he mumbles. Then he reaches for Teds wrist and pulls him out of the lab and to his bedroom. Ted just kind of follows him, stumbling a little but looking forward to wherever this is going. 

As soon as they’re in there, Henry pushes Ted against the door and kisses him, while he blindly locks it. Then he goes for Teds belt.

“Woah”, Ted mumbles.

„Is that too quick?”

„Nah, I‘m so fucking into it. Just didn‘t expect it at all.“

„Sorry, it‘s been quite a while.“ Henry seems nervous now.

„No no no, don‘t be sorry! It’s so hot.“ 

Henry laughs quietly, before he kisses Ted again, reaching for his belt again too.

—

They cuddle afterwards. Of course they do. Henrys head rests on Ted chest, Ted wrapped his arms around Henry and affectionately plays with his hair now.

Ted can‘t safely and with complete security claim that he actually _‘made love’_ before, but he’s pretty sure he did now. He‘d never say that though, because it sounds so fucking cheesy.

Maybe it‘s just that cheesy. Falling in love and all of that shit. Ted‘s pretty sure he already fell by now. He stumbled for a while and tried to catch himself, tried to find his balance, but he didn‘t. And then he fell and he hit his head so hard that he has cheesy thoughts now.

He can feel the way Henrys breath hits his chest, the way Henrys hair is tickling on his skin and he absolutely adores it.

“I’m in love with you“, he mumbles. Really quiet to be honest, because fear took a hold of him, after he opened his mouth. Fear, that Henry doesn’t want to hear that because he doesn’t feel the same.

It’s quiet and Ted actually starts to hope that Henry didn’t hear it. But Henry did, he just needed time to process it. 

“You are?”

“Uuhm..” Oh God. He fucked up, he fucked up so bad.

Henry looks up now, looks at Ted with his gorgeous eyes. He’s lightly chewing on his lip, maybe to hide that it is trembling. Ted can see it tremble anyway.  

“Sorry”, Ted quickly mumbles.

“What is it?” 

“I’m sorry I said it.”

“Don’t be.”

“Are you gonna cry?”

Henrys lip is still trembling and his eyes look kinda teary.

“No.” 

“I’m sorry if I upset you. You know what? Just forget about it.”

“No, don’t be sorry. I love you too.” 

“What?”

Ted can hear his own heart pounding by now.

“I said I love you too.”

Henry leans closer to Ted now and kisses him. He then continues placing gentle kisses on Teds face, smiling now. “Sorry, I love you”, he says, “I love you Ted.”

“Thank God”, Ted whispers. He’s relieved, he’s so fucking relieved. And it feels so good to hear it too. Nobody ever said that to him. He heard Charlotte saying it to Sam a lot, he remembers how he used to roll his eyes at those words. What a pitiful blathering. 

He catches Henry gazing at him, brightly smiling now. 

“I’m sorry. I haven’t heard that in a long time and I did not expect to hear it from anyone anymore, to be perfectly honest.”

“Well I’ve never said it and let me tell you, that silence was terrifying.”

Henry chuckles.

“I’m sorry Ted.”

“It’s alright.” 

“You really never said it?”

“No.” 

“I assume you also never heard it then?” 

“No.” 

Henry pulls him closer now and places a gentle kiss onto his collarbone, before he settles on Teds chest again.

“Now you did.” 

“Yeah it was great. You wanna say it again?”

Henry laughs quietly, before he whispers another “I love you”.

Ted smiles. 

“I love you too”

And he means it. He’s never felt like that before. 

“Are we gonna use pet names now?”

“No.”

“Babe?”

“Ted..”

“Love?”

Henry laughs. “Good God.” 

“So that’s a yes?”

“No.”

“Alright, Love it is.”

Henry just gives up complaining and instead places kisses on Teds chest. Ted consequently places a kiss on Henrys forehead, Henry looks up and they kiss for real.

“Good Night”, Henry finally mumbles against Teds lips.

“Good Night.. Love.”

Ted winks and Henry just kind of chuckles against Teds chest, not daring to object anymore.

—

Ted wakes up, when Henry tries to entangle himself from Teds arms. For some reason they ended up spooning over night. 

“Don’t”, Ted mumbles, still half asleep, before he pulls Henry back against his chest, holding him close.

“Ted it’s already nine in the morning.” 

“We don’t have anywhere to be.”

Henry hesitates, but seems to agree at last, because he turns around to Ted now. He reaches for Teds face and starts placing soft kisses everywhere.

“Open your eyes. I know that you are awake. You talked to me.”

Ted smiles and shakes his head.

“I’m not awake.” 

Henry goes for Teds eyes now, gently kissing his closed eyelids and every bit of unkissed skin nearby. 

“Jesus Christ, you really are consistent“, Ted mumbles now, not daring to admit how much he enjoys it. He opens his eyes now, squinting at the light that floats into the room through the window, almost immediately closing them again. 

“No”, he just says, before he cuddles up against Henrys chest, buries his head in the crook of Henrys neck and places a few tired kisses there. Henry wraps his arms around Ted, seemingly giving up now.

It doesn’t take long for Ted to fall back asleep.

They end up laying and cuddling there way longer than Henry planned to but he can’t deny that he thoroughly enjoys every second of it. 

After some time he decides to get up though, because he can hear everybody else in the kitchen. He slips out of Teds arms, receiving a quiet groan, but nothing more.

— 

When Ted wakes up again, Henry’s gone. After a glance at the clock, he forces himself to get up as well.

He enters the kitchen, where everybody is, for some reason. They are all either putting away everything or doing the dishes. Of course they are already done eating.

Ted steps closer to Henry, hugging him from behind and resting his head against Henrys back.

“Traitor”, he mumbles. 

“It’s not possible that you are still tired Ted.” Ted can hear Henry smile while saying that.

“Well looks like you tired me out last night.”

Bills hands shoot up to cover Alice ears and Emmas jaw drops. 

“Good God”, Henry mumbles. 

Alice laughs, much to Bills shock. She ducks out of his hands. 

“Dad, I’m almost 18!”

“You’re still too young.”

“Oh”, Paul mouths, only now getting it. 

“I’m out”, Emma declares and pulls a confused Paul out of the kitchen. 

“I guess we’ll leave you alone too.” Poor Bill. He suddenly seems so overwhelmed. He just leaves. Alice smiles and winks at Ted, before she follows everybody else. Ted might actually start to like her. 

Henry turns to Ted, biting his lip to keep himself from smiling.

“So, now that everybody’s out of here, do you wanna make out?”, Ted asks. 

“You are unbelievable.”

“You’re into it though.”

“That’s right, come here.”


End file.
